While the world is excited in anticipation over the thought of an Sergey Kovalev – Andre Ward battle at light heavyweight, there seems to be a bout that still needs to take place. A bout that may have been forgotten and thrown away. A bout that would never take place due to promotional and network issues. There is still the matter at hand to determine who the best light heavyweight in the world is.
Andre Ward has already proven that he was the best super middleweight and now there is a new era at the weight that he has left behind. Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson however were on a direct path with one another and then the train fell off the tracks. Stevenson went with Al Haymon leaving HBO and has toiled in obscurity facing mismatches after the Fonfara bout.
Kovalev took advantage of Stevenson’s absence and changed the narrative to him being the true champion at light heavyweight. This may be true that the fight may not be considered a 50-50 bout anymore, but it still needs to take place. Fights aren’t won on paper; they are won in the ring. We won’t know what happens in a bout between the two power punchers until they get in the ring. These are the top three reasons this fight still needs to happen:
- Simply both men are two of the hardest punchers in the sport and knowing the animosity between not only the two fighters, but the promoters as well. It is likely that this fight produces an all action bout. The bout could harken back to the era of Matthew Saad Muhummad where the Light Heavyweight division was one of the most exciting in the entire sport. Kovalev is facing Jean Pascal again this upcoming January based on how exciting the first bout was, a bout with Stevenson could prove to surpass the excitement of that bout.
- There aren’t many divisions in the sport of boxing where there is one undisputed champion who holds all of the titles. Before Tyson Fury was stripped of his IBF title earlier this month, Wladimir Klitschko was the closest to having all of the belts in his division. The title belts get a deserved bad reputation, but unless you’re Mayweather, Canelo, Cotto or Pacquiao the belts still matter to the fighters. To crown a complete undisputed Light Heavyweight champion would help bring closure in an era with such political divisions.
- The final reason that this fight needs to happen is that it brings hope to the sport. For so many years there have been fights that haven’t been able to happen simply because one fighter fought on one network or had a certain promoter. In May, we saw the two biggest stars of the sport face off bringing networks and promoters together for one event. A Kovalev-Stevenson bout being made would put the sport in boxing back to the forefront leaving business as a secondary concern. Fan’s wanted to see these two in the ring because they are the two best light heavyweights’.
Fan’s deserve his fight and have waited long enough for promoters to play their political games. If this fight gets made, it will give hope that maybe we can move on to an era where fights happen when they are supposed to happen.
– Hector Franco / @MrHector_Franco
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